Former head teacher Alexandru Grigore Popescu donated his body, pictured, to medical science

A Romanian school has been told they can keep their skeleton staff after education officials discovered they were using the bones of a former headmaster to teach anatomy.

Alexandru Grigore Popescu had been working at the rural Puchenii Mosneni elementary school in south-eastern Romania's Prahova county for 50 years until his death.

He said in his will that he had always wanted to have a skeleton in the class for biology lessons.

It had never been possible, but in his will he had arranged for his skeleton to be cleaned and professionally put back together so it could be hung in the classroom where he had taught kids for 50 years.

But the skeleton had been confiscated when health and safety officials discovered it was the real thing on a visit to the school and insisted on having it checked to see if it was hygienic.

But now after being professionally checked and specially treated to make sure it was safe, and put in a glass case, the skeleton has now been returned to the school.

Although it may seem grisly kids at the school said they found it really helpful during classes to have the skeleton, and were pleased to see a return.

The former headteacher Popescu had started work as a teacher at the school in the Puchenii Mosneni commune in 1908.

History teacher Sorin Stanciu said: 'He was made head teacher 10 years after starting working there and was famous for the fact that he never missed a class. His skeleton was made into a display in the 1960s after his death and he hasn't missed a class since then either.'

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

The skeleton is now being kept in a glass case just to make doubly sure that it is not only healthy but also that none of the kids are tempted to mess around with it.

Sorin added: 'I think having our own skeleton is really one of the reasons that we always do really well with students graduating in the sciences and in particular going on to study medicine.'

Popescu taught at the school for 50 years and wanted to continue in education after his death

Education officials determined that the skeleton was hygienic and allowed it to remain in the classroom

Popescu first arrived at the school in 1908 and remained on until his death more than 50 years later

He admitted that not many however went on to become teachers, but said it was nothing to do with the fact that they were worried about ending up as teaching aids themselves.

The current headteacher Violeta Badea said: 'There is nobody around now that remembers him as a teacher but I think you can say that from the shape of his chin he was probably an extremely determined and decisive individual and a man with a very powerful personality, which explains his enormous attachment to the school, this community and its children.

'The professor's wish was fulfilled because he did not want to be put six feet under the ground but rather he wanted to be placed in the back of the classroom, which has been done as he wanted so that he could continue to assist classes.

One of the pupils told local TV: 'He donated his body so that we could study biology better. Instead of reading off a book, we look at the skeleton and understand better.'

Another added: 'At the beginning I thought it was something weird because I hadn't seen a real skeleton, but now I'm used to him.'

Advertisement

Share or comment on this article:

Romanian headteacher donates his SKELETON for students to learn about anatomy